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Stimulating Microelectronics in Spain
A program of financial and technical assistance dedicated to Spain leads to over sixty new products exploiting microelectronics, increasing the competitiveness of Spanish SMEs.
GAME II is the second phase of the Special Action in Microelectronics for Spain. Its main objective was to build on the success of GAME I, continuing to increase awareness of microelectronics technology and applications among Spanish industrial companies. This goal was accomplished by supporting the development of products or components which could be made more competitive by using microelectronic technology.
GAME II provided financial support by awarding the cost of development of the microelectronic part of the product. It also provided technical support, by giving advice to companies on how to improve their products using microelectronics, and by 
providing design services through a network of Support Centres. The specific areas covered were ASICs, sensors and microsystems design and out of more than one hundred projects submitted, some sixty projects were selected for support, most of them from SMEs. Some representative examples are described here.
Using a chip embedded into a standard mechanical key and an ASIC in the cylinder of the lock, mechanical security is combined with electronic flexibility. The ASIC inside the lock stores the electronic signatures of the authorised keys, so only they can open the lock. If case of electrical failure, the standard mechanical security of the lock is maintained
Although more powerful and less expensive than DC (direct current) motors, asynchronous AC (alternating current) motors are more difficult to control. An ASIC performs the fast, complex calculations needed for real-time vector control (a control procedure for AC motors that delivers very smooth control for use in applications such as elevators), lowering costs and raising reliability.
A three-axis silicon accelerometer is being developed for the precise control of the nozzle movement in waterjet cutters. Moved by a robot arm, they can cut very complex three dimensional shapes and by measuring the bouncing of the nozzle, optimum cutting speed is achieved for all material densities, shortening cutting time and producing a smoother finish. Water flowmeter for household appliances
such as water heaters and washing machines must be accurate, low-cost and compact. A microsystem for measuring water flow is being developed by a household appliance manufacturer, involving the micromachining of silicon to create pressure and temperature sensors integrated with the control electronics.
tel +34-1-542-01-86 -- fax +34-1-559-36-74
e-mail 1 juan.mulet@cotec.es
e-mail 2 juanjo.mangas@cotec.es
www http://www/cotec.es/cotec
Research Area Technology and Components for Subsystems
Project GAME 2
Keywords ASICs;microelectronics industry; micromachining; microsystems design;
| Project Participants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| COTEC ES | |||
| plus over 60 other project participants | |||
home page | Results Zone | IT Solutions | Application Areas | Research Areas | Technology for Components and Subsystems The URL for this page is /esprit/src/results/res_area/tcss/tcss12.htm
This page was last updated on 22 November 1996, and is maintained by esprit@dg3.cec.be